


You are my new dream

by A_Nobelmonster



Series: Soul Mate Au's [4]
Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fix It Fic, Fluff, M/M, de-aged andrew, ish, its gonna be cute, kid andrew, mild h/c, neil comforting andrew after nightmares by singing German lullabies, protective foxes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-20 04:51:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8236681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Nobelmonster/pseuds/A_Nobelmonster
Summary: Andrew is de-aged physically through mysterious means, Neil is enjoying being the one to protect Andrew, Kevin and the Foxes are confused and Andrew himself is taking advantage of the afternoon naps and free cookies.





	1. Once upon a time, there was a soft boy

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: this is a highly belated valentines day gift for Etra who asked for ‘accidental andreil p.d.a’ and also a fix it fic for Aly. I had a hard time doing them as different pieces so I combined them and what do you know? it's so much cuter. 
> 
> A/N/N: I have quite a few stories that I started for people in the fandom and then forgot. oops found this and saw @wingsofwaxx and several others were interested in it continuing. I need a change of pace from my Jerejean fic so it worked out. 
> 
> I'm gonna try really , really hard to make this mostly fluff but accident happen. There are vague references to Andrews past and if that changes I will tag it.

Andrews' mouth is set in a pout, his lips open just enough that the hint of a small tooth gap in the front row peeks out. he looks at the gathered foxes, well looks up to them from his visibly shortened stature 

‘stop looking at me like that or I will carve your eye’s out.”

those are Andrew's words, That’s his tone too but not his voice. it's higher. younger. reflective of his physically diminished age.

Nicky takes a step forward. Like he wants to rip Andrew away from Neils side on the couch and hold him. His eyes are glazed with a sweet sadness that so subtly reads so this is what Andrew looked like when he was younger. before- before.

the smaller fox can tell this and he pushes on Neils' arm “stand up” as Neil does so he takes Andrew with him placed on one hip so the height inequality is hardly noticeable. “Nicky” a thin decorative letter cutter is produced in one hand pointed at Nicky's throat. The other hand is tightly grasping the orange baggy material of Neils hoody. “cut it out.” It takes some effort, Andrews skinny legs lightly bracket Neil so he can stay up.

Aaron hasn’t stopped staring since he walked in, maybe for the first time he can see where they really look like each other. In the way, Andrew chews on his lip, the tense set of his shoulders. Allison looks like nothing in the world will ever be able to surprise her again. the rest including Kevin look like they want to go investigate Andrews new younger appearance but are too afraid of the fact that his old attitude remains.

Neil had been texting Nicky with more enthusiasm than ever before since the start of this morning. What foods are safe for kids? up until what age do you need a booster seat? he hadn’t been allowed back in the dorm all day once he left for classes either and with that line of questioning his brain had been in disarray trying to figure the situation out. Had they stolen a child? did someone ask them to babysit? but he couldn’t think of anyone stupid enough to leave their child to Neil and Andrew. He certainly had not expected to finally be let back in once he gathered all the foxes to see Andrew leaning into Neils side watching the news. Only with Andrew looked approximately five years old now.

it takes the other foxes a half hour to come to relative acceptance of this new information. Kevin is the first to warm up and asks the most questions. how long will this last? what happened? what are they going to do for games? Matt is very interested too but his questions consist of asking if they need to go shopping to get Andrew new clothes and if they should go grocery shopping so they actually have food with some nutritional value. Dan leaves for most of the time to go call Wymack , what or how she’s going to explain this is beyond Neils comprehension.

In the end, it’s the loud grumbling of Andrews' stomach that gets the others to leave. albeit reluctantly . Kevin and Nicky look beside themselves after everyone has filtered out. Neil sets Andrew down on the couch ordering pizza while he paces in the kitchen keeping an eye on the others in the living room. He is under no illusions, No matter what state Andrew is in he can be dangerous if need be . He hopes the others don’t forget this in the smooth youthful face of the small goalie. It would be a shame if they had to replace the carpet.

Neil gets the pizza when it arrives coming back to Nicky indignantly holding Andrews pack of cigarettes high above his head while Kevin unhappily holds Andrew back with one hand on his shoulder so he doesn’t burn Nicky with the orange glow of the cigarette bud in his small finger. 

not great but not as bad as it could be.

Dinner, is well, not awful. it could be, all things considered. Neil stacks phone books on the seat so Andrew can sit at eye level with the others which only meets a mildly threatening warning to not say anything about it. Really it’s not too much different from their everyday life. Andrew has always been shorter so with some adjustment is not even that noticeable. The biggest difference is probably in the physical semblance of his body.

Neil automatically gives’s Andrew a fork and knife to cut his pizza when they sit down to eat. After five minutes of Andrew ineffectively sawing at his food, Neil leans over to cut it up. Nicky gasps just audible enough that they both hear ‘thats so cute I'm gonna die’ followed by Andrews car key’s being lobbed at Nicky's face. Neil can see Andrews feet calmly kicking back and forth under the table so apparently, the small display of aggression is enough for him at the moment. Andrew stabs each piece of pizza methodically chewing it more than necessary so he doesn’t choke.

Andrew seems to be the most adapted to his new body until Neil see’s him slump onto the table fractionally both hands tightly gripping his utensils. Eyelids opening and closing lethargically like waves in the dark. His lips stained with tomato sauce slightly parted. Kevin follows his gaze to Andrew so surprised by the innocent display he does choke which alerts Nicky. Neil silences him with a nasty look before finishing his pizza waiting until Andrew is completely asleep.

“Nicky, put this in the fridge when you're done.” His arms slowly wrapping around Andrew pulling him up so he can carry Andrew to their room. Neil moves as slowly as possible both in an attempt not to jar Andrew awake and not to jar Andrew awake and lose an appendage.

Through years of ingrained habit, Neil is able to make his way through their room with only the moon to highlight his way. Normally they slept in their own separate beds, occasionally Neil would fall asleep on Andrews bed but it was still something they were working on with the issue of both of them liking a clear escape route at all times. Cuddling or whatever they did made that more difficult but know the thought of putting Andrew in his bed alone when he knew in the faintest tangible way what Andrew dreamt of seemed too cruel.

And to be honest. a small part of him wondered what it would be like to be the big spoon as Nicky liked to call it. His heart beat faster at the thought and he tried to rationalize with himself but laying Andrew down on the bed he couldn’t help but instinctively curl around Andrew. Bodily wanting , needing to protect his….lover in this newly weakened state. It felt every bit of a double edged sword. On one hand he was able to protect Andrew in a way that normally would be allowed but on the other hand, everything seemed that much more able to harm Andrew.

the intensity of wanting to protect Andrew was so fervent that instead of acknowledging it he scooted closer until he could feel the warmth of Andrew's skin. Neil watched at one of Andrews' hands languidly moved to his before holding his down “ st’op moving’ “ but he never pulled back his hand.

It felt like something new and nebulous was forming where their hands still touched, Andrews grasp didn’t loosen the whole night. Not that Neil minded.  
-  
Andrew wakes in the middle of the night, they both do.

he sits up with the blanket over his head and curls forward, an act that looks like he is physically trying to stop his insides from falling out. It’s something Older Andrew has done so much that moments past by and Neil is still unsure.

Most of the time he lays still and lets Andrew adjust to the present and the ghost that linger in his dreams. Neil knows how disorienting it is . 

But sometimes he gets up and makes Andrew cocoa, dropping of the mug before going to the living room and putting the t.v. on low. 

Neils life had always been torment. It had always been growing five years older for every day on the road until he was not a child but desiccating where he stood. 

but sometimes, sometimes it hadn’t been as awful. Sometimes it was on the knives edge of happy that Neil still couldn’t tell you where is hurt most of the time. Too many wires have been crossed. 

a part of him is starting to realize that regardless of the situation what his mother had done to him on the road was not how it should be. Nicky kept trying to sit him down and explain abuse but it didn’t feel like abuse when his mother would sing to him as he laid slumped again the window of their car with a fever or when she held his hand tightly right before his father would come home. 

A lot of things confused Neil so he hoped this was ok, he sat on the bed against the wall and started to hum. It was a German lullaby his mother had loved as a child. 

Andrew wavered, a leaf shaking at the slightest breeze but he didn’t berate Neil or tell him to shut the hell up so he started to sing . Softly but in their small world, it was more than enough. 

“ Morgen frueh, wenn Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt .” Lay thee down now and rest, may thy slumber be blessed.

“What....what are you doing.” Andrew sounds exhausted, Neil supposes he must be. Hell affords no comforts. 

“..singing. Do you want me to stop?” Andrew moves a foot from underneath himself lightly kicking Neils. 

“I didn’t say that.” So Neil sings and Andrew breathes and neither of them talks about how relieved they are to wake up to each other. 

-

Regardless of Andrews sudden transformation Neil still has classes to study for and the Foxes still have a game to play. Wymack had suggested postponement at practice Monday morning. Kevin had elected that was a bad decision and subsequently vetoed it. 

It was worth it to see Wymack look like he wished Kevin was still at an age to be grounded. 

Andrew colored happily on Aarons hw and looked generally amused by the whole thing and looking to ensure Allison had spent her money well on the packet of crayons she had handed him. 

After practice, Neil had chosen to do his homework at the library instead of attending class with Andrew in his current predicament. 

As soon as they walked into the building Neil went to order them drinks while Andrew found them a table, he returned with Andrews hot chocolate to find him sitting on a small table in the back listlessly flipping through what looked to be the art of war. They both watched a group of students arrive from the front honing in on Andrew and immediately breaking out into excited coos. 

“Apparently your flippin’ adorable trying to read such a ‘big kid’ book.” Neil narrowly avoided the book tossed where his torso had been moments ago. Not so secretly he agreed. Andrew was very cute. 

When Neil was ignored in favor of Andrew nursing his hot cocoa (it was at child's temp because he wanted to be careful) he decided to start on his algebra homework. 

slowly he made it through his assignments until he was left with a small stack of papers and a missing space where Andrew had been previously. 

He tried to reason with himself. That Andrew was still mentally himself and that he would be fine. He tried but the overwhelming thud of his heart drove him to his feet gathering up his things attempting to calmly search the library. The fact that he wasn’t in pain was a comfort, it let him know that at least Andrew was still in the building. 

Neil made it to the first floor by the time his heart began to slow with proximity to his soulmate. The noise of the library though manageable made it hard for him to concentrate. He passed by the library section meant for the adjacent school daycare facility when he felt Andrews presence. 

In the brightly lit room full of bookcases adorned with stuffed animals and bright paper craft animals hanging from the ceiling sat Andrew surrounded by ten five-year-olds in story time. 

the ridiculousness of the moment slowly drained away as he looked at Andrew. Eyes half shut with contentment as the library volunteer read. It was Matilda at the very end where she goes to live with miss Honey. 

“So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone.” 

Neil clutched the frame of the door, Matilda had been his favorite book as well. He had found it at the bus stop when he was eight and his mother has left to talk to a contact while Neil sat in the bathroom of their motel for hours. His education had taken a backseat to their survival. It took him weeks to get through the book and he had cried at the end. 

he read it over and over again until the cover fell off . the pages stained with dried blood from his dirty fingers. And when he had seen Andrew mouthing those final lines with his perfect memory he wanted to cry again. 

that fate brought them together. That Andrew was his soulmate and that they had both been too soft boys held together by the fragile narrative of a lonely girl so much like themselves. 

The other kids started to leave , the placid spell of the book was broken but not unkindly. Neil went to Andrew crouching beside the cushion on the floor. “Are you ready to go?”

Andrew used Neils outstretched hand to help himself up, he didn’t bother replying just walked to the door. “Are you coming?” And for a moment Neil had to remind himself that despite their current appearances neither of them were the children who had read those books anymore. They had found each other and the foxes. 

they were not alone.


	2. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The foxes go trunk or treating . Renee and Allison win prizes, Nicky enjoys candy and Neil relaxes-ish.

Andrew, has never seen the appeal of Halloween. It makes sense, though. Why go to strangers houses to get scared when he did that plenty of times growing up? The scariest monsters don’t call themselves that. They don’t have simple monikers like “creature from the black lagoon.” their names are clever guises, “Daniel, my foster dad”. They were far more terrifying because they didn’t fade away like a fond memory the day after Halloween. They stayed to haunt him for the rest of his life.

He dresses up though for Edens twilight. A flippant gesture most years but harmless . The costumes won’t harm him, they won’t come to life with repercussions but his eye never lingers on the masses of children in the corner of his eyes walking up and down streets. The thought of trick or treating hadn’t even entertained space in his head since he was six but now that he’s become….younger again the thought seems to be contagious.

Oddly enough Kevin is the first to bring it up, “What are we doing for Halloween this year?” since we can’t take a five-year-old to a bar, it’s unspoken though Andrew has never had trouble filling in the blanks. Kevin doesn’t actually care about Halloween but he does care about being able to go out in a controlled environment and being reckless. In the most controlled Kevin way possible. “Should we...stay in ?”

The team is sitting in the dinner by campus they usually go to. It’s been decorated with swathes of orange and black crepe paper that are accented with stiffened cheesecloth designed to look like pleasant ghost. Dan remains silent curiously intent on Andrew who is eating his free smiley face chocolate chip pancake thanks to the kids discount. His sitting at one of the foremost points of the table and with the foxes looking to him for a reply gives off the ridiculous air of the Godfather if it had taken place with kindergarteners.

Their sitting close enough to the front door that as Neil daydreams out the window he can see a colorfully articulated flyer for trunk or treating that's being held at a church near campus. There are also flyers for free sexual health clinics and a play that had passed months ago. The baby-faced Don of their group sips on his chocolate milk forcing the others to fill in the silence with light conversation.

Nicky has followed Neils gaze and spots the trunk or treating event, Neil can see him briefly fight an internal war to say anything . Ultimately the desire to see Andrew in a cute setting wins the battle loosening his jaw. “ What if..what about going trunk or treating?” The foxes turn to him stunned. Neil’s enjoying the trainwreck while idly trying to guess how the idea will be received. Andrew loves candy so anything is possible. “I mean they are doing it at that Mormon church by us so it won’t be super excited but there will be candy and food and prizes. We could always come back and drink after it.”

Allison has an impressively calculating look in her eyes at the mention of prizes while something very innocent lights up in Renee. Neil can guess that Allison's competitive nature is as much interested as Renee’s desire to pass out candy in fun community setting. Dan . Matt and Kevin look like they don’t mind as long as they get to do something for Halloween. Aaron and himself could careless. Nicky is….cautiously hopeful.

It’s less that Andrew is making a choice for the whole group and more that the other foxes are trying to be inclusive of Andrews delicate state. Neil like the idea of it being a relatively safe event , it relaxes his muscles enough to breath comfortably.

“You could get a lot of candy using your appearance” Matt throws out idly. Andrew spoons a mouthful of whip cream on his tongue. “You could dress as yourself and say you're an exy player. No costume required.” Perhaps this isn’t as much of a disaster as Neil thought it could be. Matt is almost civilly encouraging Andrew to have fun and Andrew doesn’t look upset by the notion.

Andrew turns to look at Neil seriously for a moment. He can feel a path from his temple to his jaw being traced with the weight of Andrews stare. He doesn’t look like he is trying to find an answer in Neils' face but he’s trying to find something regardless. Maybe he’s considering his options. Tell them no and stay in or tell them no only for them to ask Neil to sway his choice. Maybe he is considering neither of those and entertaining the thought of saying yes to watch them gape like shocked fish.

He settles for , “whatever. I don’t care.” which does have the desired effect in making the others visibly shocked but trying to remain calm as they discuss the details of the event. Renee wants to decorate Allison's trunk, Allison wants to win and Matt talks about calling his mom for good potluck recipes.

A week later the conversation for the event has dropped off to nearly inaudible levels. Neils has been busy trying to facilitate some type of camaraderie with the baby foxes in the name of team unity so they have been testing the idea of team study sessions.

Laying on the couch of the dorm living room Neil is mentally evaluating the baby foxes when a small bedsheet ghost with two neat circles cut out for eyes comes over to stand by him calmly.

“Am I being haunted?” honestly the narrative of Hamlet fits Neil a little too well. It would make sense.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Get dressed we’re going soon.” The ghost is a good idea for Andrew. It’s simple yet effective and allows for him to have to comfort that the sheet provides as a shield. It amuses Neil to no end when he notices that the sheets are Kevin as he goes to get dressed. This year Neil is going as a dinosaur, it’s less of a costume and more of a onsie meaning it’s warm as well as functional. After last years complicated theme Neil opted to pick out his own though Nicky bitched about it being a lazy choice for several hours.

Since Andrew had become discernibly smaller some things had changed with the seating arrangement in the car. Andrew sat in the back of a booster's seat (Nicky insisted and somehow got away with this) while Kevin sat up front leaving Nicky and Aaron to alternate spots when Aaron wasn’t riding with Katelyn. It had taken a while for everyone to get used to the arrangement but now Neil looked in the mirror to seat Andrew sitting in his costume kicking his feet contentedly with a cheap hollow pumpkin on his lap. The warmth of pure affection chased away the October chill lingering as they exited the car at the churches parking lot.

Renee had arrived only moments before them and was already taking out items to begin decorating. The rest of them milled around awkwardly watching crockpots being taken to vacant fold out tables inhibiting one corner of the churches side yard while an adjacent area that was highlighted with caution tape marked the eating area. Matt had decided to decorate the end of his pick up with leftovers from Allison's car while Kevin took out a flask careful to turn away from Renee and the church before taking a healthy swig. This left Neil to help Dan take over all the items they had made , Neil fondly sat down their very own crockpot labeled “Foxes” embellished by orange duck tape fox paws .

Allison had not only bought supplies for decorating the truck but also brought a box containing full sized candies. Apparently, this was impressive for Nicky because he waxed poetics of her generosity looking very genuine. Neil had only celebrated Halloween last year really, at Edens twilight so the concept of trick or treating ...whatever this was, was understood in the most theoretical sense.

If looking around was what Neil had to go by then….it wasn’t awful. Allisons trunk display was an impressive array of floating mannequin heads, a small screen looping various horror movies and fluffy white spider webs crawling out from the truck over her well-polished tail lights. Neil wasn’t sure the prize was anything that amazing but the determined look in the two blond foxes eye’s say not to question it. Neil is certainly impressed though and he can't imagine them walking out empty handed.

No one is really sure how to go about this because the fine details had never been discussed so the result is...interesting to say the least. Andrew is flanked by Kevin and Nicky while Neil stands several feet away watching the group go from trunk to trunk. The other foxes are at their own cars passing out candy and Neil briefly wonders if he should have volunteered for that but seeing Andrew walking so innocently with his growing basket of candy makes him decide against it. Kevin had originally just been sticking to Andrew out of habit but in the jovial spirit of the holiday is roped into using the pouch of his kangaroo costume as a makeshift candy bag. Nicky, however, went to his cousin's side with the full intent of getting candy as well.

His watch guard position suits him well but he is far from relaxed in the nearly chaotic group setting with children buzzing about. Some of the children have been recruited by their parents as mascots of their trunks and keepers of the candy. It’s fascinating to Neil watching so many happy parents and children enjoying themselves. Andrews small group walks over to gray pickup with a small lion on the bumper, his mother standing beside him to provide any necessary assistance. Nicky smiles clearly charmed, “Trick or treat.” and the mom nudges the child.

“Do the thing sammie.” Sammie the terry cloth lion perks up handing the candy bowl to his mom before “rawr, rawwwwr” ing for several minutes. He smiles to himself before making grabby hands for the container which his mother contentedly releases so that he can gently chuck candy at them. Neil forsee’s many cute costumes in Nicky’s future children's lives. Even Kevin looks enamored by the child and Neil thinks about how soft the former Raven can look when he’s not on the court. Did Riko ever see the softness in Kevin? Did he see fragile Kevin after Kaylie had died and never again? Or did he see the soft breakable nature of Kevin every day making it more and more tempting to possess Kevin?

A father stands with a baby ladybug on one hip and a bag of nerds on the other, the baby bug is blowing bubbles and Neil tries his damnedest not to think about fragility as a weakness to be exploited. He tries to focus on his soulmate slowly ambling along dirtying the bottom of the sheet over him. It doesn’t take them very long to loop around all of the cars and by the time they do people are starting to pack up readying themselves for the prize giveaway. Andrew heads straight to the car bypassing the other foxes, Neil watches him open the door disappearing inside. He sticks around just long enough to see the judges give Allision and Renee best trunk design before sliding into the front seat turning to face Andrew.

He doesn’t need to fill the silence so Neil enjoys the proximity to Andrew , knowing that he’s safe and the foxes are having fun is enough for him. The others will join them when the best costume has been awarded so they have a few seconds of time by themselves. The faint echoes of what he had been informed by Matt was Michael Jackson's Thriller bleeds through the car doors. “Oh my god Neil, Thriller is only like the most important Halloween song ever. I'm making you a playlist when we get home.”

 

The sun has finished setting before the others pile in , Andrew hasn’t moved since Neil got in so curious he pulls up the front of Andrews costume to show Andrew sitting in his booster seat asleep and gripping a Twix bar.

“Neil can you believe they gave the best costume to that joker child, it’s like they haven’t even read the comics. The Queen of Hearts costume was so much more impressive- oh.” Nicky stops talking when Kevin slaps his hand over Nicky’s mouth both of them looking at the sleeping fox.

“It must be past his bedtime.” Which is true, Andrews body is smaller and has less energy than his older self-meaning that lately the insomniac goalkeeper had been asleep by nine p.m. The digital lights on the dash read 10 when he turns the car on before they leave he gently removes the rest of the costume from Andrews' shoulder taking delight in the soft mussed up nature of his hair

They speed down the highway, the smell of damp autumn leave and cool air filters into the car. Neil lets the memory replace another repressed childhood event. Relaxes into the safety of the car letting himself get lost in the quiet chatter in the backseat. Neil decides that Halloween in a nice holiday, he’s already looking forward to next year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i went trunk or treating with my sister for the first time. It was cute so i figured it would be a nice instalment to this series.


End file.
